


Project HQ

by grand_king_oikawa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fighting, Gen, M/M, MORE TAGS TO BE ADDED AS THIS THING GETS BIGGER, Multi, Other, Strong Language, angsty feely, coffee shop cliche, hotel cuddles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:27:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grand_king_oikawa/pseuds/grand_king_oikawa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Project HQ is/will be a big collection of random Haikyuu stories! I accept fic requests, variety of pairings and universes, and maybe short comics as well. I am willing to do crossover fics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Lean on Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic for Jellybean60 (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean60)

“STOP BEING SO SELFISH! VOLLEYBALL IS A TEAM SPORT, THAT MEANS YOU WIN AND LOSE AS A TEAM, WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS NOTHING BUT SLEFISH AND WILL ONLY HURT THE TEAM,” Kageyama snarled. He was tired. His legs ached from the long practice they had earlier today and his body was covered in bruises because of diving drills. Of course, Hinata made him stay after practice to toss for some idiotic experiment. They had spent a solid hour in the gym. The raven-haired setter couldn’t believe Hinata’s stupidity sometimes. It was obvious that the open-eyed freak quick wasn’t going to work anytime soon. Hinata had missed every single ball Kageyama had tossed to him, and they had gone through the cart at least 5 times. “Like I said before, I only toss to people that are essential to winning. That statement holds true, and right now, you aren’t essential to winning. You’ve probably gone and screwed up the normal freak quick. If you’re so persistent about this idiotic experiment, I refuse to toss to you, you’re just a burden,” Kageyama’s eyes burned as he turned to go towards the locker room. He was fed up with Hinata right now.

“After all we’ve been through, you give up now! WHAT KIND OF SETTER ARE YOU. ARE YOU OKAY LOSING TO THE GRAND KING AGAIN, ARE YOU OKAY WITH LOSING TO SEIJOU, CAUSE I’M NOT! WE NEED TO GET BETTER, WHAT WE’RE DOING CURRENTLY WON’T WORK AGAINST TOP TEAMS LIKE NEKOMA OR DATE TECH OR SEIJOU. AND BESISDES, WHO ARE YOU TO TALK ABOUT SELFISHNESS MR. KING OF THE COURT, ” Hinata yelled, his face turning red in frustration, “that’s all you are anyways, you’re nothing but a selfish, dictator.” Kageyama stopped and began to slowly turn. Hinata felt a brief rush of satisfaction. He had gotten the taller setter to pay attention to him, but the satisfaction was short-lived. A loud crash resonated through the gym. Kageyama had smashed his fist into the wall. He was furious. His face contorted and he looked absolutely murderous. The raven-haired boy stalked towards Hinata, face darkening. The smaller middle shrank backwards.

“What. Did. You. Call. Me,” he snarled quietly, “DON’T EVER CALL ME THAT BASTARD. YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!” Kageyama grabbed Hinata’s shirt and lifted the smaller boy. The pair locked eyes, brown ones boring into ice blue ones.

“I simply pointed out a fact. I thought you got better than when I first met you, but you haven’t changed. No wonder why Ushiwaka-san wouldn’t want you on his team, you only serve yourself. You’re unwilling to change, just like you were a year ago,” Hinata yelled. Hot rage coursed through his body. All he wanted was for Kageyama to give this new technique a chance, and he almost immediately shot it down.  Kageyama’s eyes flashed.

“WELL GUESS WHAT, YOU’RE NOT THE ACE DIPSHIT, AND YOU’LL NEVER BE THE ACE EITHER! YOU’RE SURE AS HELL NOT GOOD ENOUGH EITHER. Who the HELL do you think you are, trying to steal the ace’s spotlight,” Kageyama screamed, not caring that the neighbors could probably hear them. Hinata grabbed Kageyama’s wrists, trying to pull him off, but the setter was too strong. The orange-haired boy gritted his teeth in frustration.

“STOP, WHY DON’T YOU EVER LISTEN,” Hinata slapped Kageyama across the face as hard as he could with his free hand, causing him to let go and stumble backwards.  When the raven-haired teen finally looked up, his eyes burned with rage and he began to stalk towards Hinata. Before the smaller hitter even knew what was happening, he felt something hard slam into his face and blood dripped down his nose. Kageyama had punched him. Hinata tried to scramble out of the way, but was too slow. Kageyama’s other fist found its way into Hinata’s gut. He lay on the ground, gasping for air as Kageyama turned and began walking towards the locker room.

“Stop… Kageyama…you…can’t,” Hinata tried to yell, but his lungs and voice refused to cooperate.

“Fuck off, ” came the icy reply, devoid of any emotion other than cold, hard rage. Hinata’s eyes brimmed with tears of frustration. He was getting nowhere with this. Another flash of rage filled his body and without thinking, he launched himself at Kageyama’s back, catching him by surprise and knocking him to the ground.

“WHY! DON’T! YOU! EVER! THINK! ABOUT! OTHER! PEOPLE! YOU! ASSHOLE!” Hinata screamed, bringing his fist back to smash his setter’s face in. Kageyama dodged the hit.

“IT’S NOT ME WHO’S BEING SELFISH, I TOLD YOU EARLIER, THIS IS NOT WORKING. THERE’S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO ATTEMPT TO MAKE HUGE CHANGES BETWEEN NOW AND PRELIMS, I’m sure as hell not going to fucking LOSE because of one person’s stupidity,” Kageyama flung Hinata off him and threw the smaller boy to the ground. Hinata’s head hit the floor with a resounding crack just as the doors to the gym flew open. Sugawara and Tanaka were standing in shock at the sight before them

“Kageyama NO!” Sugawara yelled, desperately trying to get the younger setter to stop. Kageyama’s eyes flashed, but he stalked away from Hinata while Tanaka attempted to help the smaller boy to the opposite end of the gym. The raven-haired setter smashed his fist into the wall. He was so pissed. He was so fucking pissed. He felt hands on his shoulders pinning him up against the wall. He raised his head to see Suga’s angry face looking at him

“What the hell was that Kageyama, why are you fucking assaulting Hinata,” he yelled, brown eyes flashing.

“Hinata’s being a fucking IDIOT! He’s being such a selfish, arrogant asshat. He insists I toss to him for a goddamn hour so he can experiment with this stupid-ass new quick idea he came up with,” Kageyama felt tears of frustration and rage brim in his eyes. He allowed the grey-haired setter to pull him outside, away from the gym. His entire body ached. Blood dripped from his bleeding knuckles and there was a cut above his eye. Hinata was probably worse off.

“Come on, you’re coming home with me, ” Suga put his arm sympathetically around the younger setter. He was still mad that Kageyama lost his temper and got physical with Hinata, but he could understand why he was frustrated. Both he and Kageyama had told Hinata numerous times that experimenting with new ideas now was a bad idea, and could end up hurting them short term. Even Ukai, who was usually open to suggestions, agreed. 

On the walk back to Suga’s apartment, Kageyama felt more alone than he had ever felt in his life. He felt more alone than when his dog died when he was 7. He felt more alone than when he had been rejected by his teammates in junior high. The raven-haired setter had never realized how much he had come to care for the obnoxious, shrimpy middle that couldn’t serve or pass. Hinata had been the first person, no first teammate, he ever made a real connection with and now he had probably destroyed it forever. He felt silent tears running down his face, not caring if Suga saw them or not. _I’m sorry Hinata, please, don’t leave me alone, don’t make this a repeat of Junior High all over again_.


	2. No Parallels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BokuAka cliche coffee shop love.

Bokuto Kotarou always wondered who the boy with the dark hair and red scarf that sat in the back of his Drawing I class was. This boy never spoke, in fact, he rarely looked up from his paper. Everyone left him alone, even teachers. Bokuto was sure that some people in his class that probably didn’t even know that this boy existed, but Bokuto thought he was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.  He loved his black, curly hair, his dark eyes, his quiet but composed demeanor, and most of all, his occasional smile. Bokuto desperately wanted a chance to talk to this mysterious boy with the red scarf, but he was elusive and Bokuto never saw him outside of class.

Akaashi  Keiji had never liked people or art very much. He was only taking Drawing I because it was required for every student to take at least two consecutive years of a fine art. However, there was one boy in his class that stood out, the one with fluffy white hair and big, friendly gold/brown eyes that sat in the front.  He was the only reason the black-haired boy even came to class on some days. Akaashi usually never noticed specific people, everyone was always another blurred face he’d never see again, but this boy was different. Akaashi thought he was the most beautiful human he’d ever seen. He wished he could meet the boy, but he never seemed to be able to gather up enough courage to talk to him. So he settled for quietly observing the boy from his little corner.

Bokuto shivered as the cold winter wind bit into his skin. He was definitely regretted only wearing his old Fukurodani Club jacket. He figured he would go get some coffee before his 8:30 Writing I class, which he didn’t want to take, but had to take. He was beginning to regret his choice of walking instead of taking the bus to waste time before class. Pulling his jacket tighter around his body, Bokuto began heading towards _Owl’s Nest_ , the local coffee place when a flash of red caught his eye and a heavy, warm body crashed head on into him.

Akaashi hated winter. It was a combination of a bunch of things he already hated. Winter was cold, wet, messy, and downright disgusting sometimes. He regretted signing up for an 8:30 AM Calc 3 class. Akaashi liked math, but he was currently freezing his ass off because the only way to get to the math department was to walk. He groaned and wrapped his scarf tighter around his face. Suddenly, his foot gave way on a hidden patch of ice and he careened sideways, right into another person. _Shit. Of course this day could only get worse_ Akaashi thought. He turned, opening his mouth to utter a small thanks to the person that caught him only to find himself staring into an awfully familiar pair of golden-brown eyes.

  1. _Of course it had to be him_. _Now what am I supposed to do, pretend I don’t know him, it’s not like I can say hi I’m in your Drawing I class and I watch you sometimes_ thought Bokuto and Akaashi. The dark-haired boy felt his face growing redder by the second.  “Er, sorry, I’ll be on my way, ” he turned, trying to hide his glowing blush, but Bokuto’s hand stopped him.



“It’s okay, we all do dumb shit sometimes, come on, I’ll buy you coffee, you look cold,” Bokuto tried not to sound too excited.

“But, I have an 8:30 Calc class,” Akaashi weakly protested. He really wanted to get coffee with Bokuto, but at the same time…

“Screw Calc, I’m missing Writing I right now, fuck that class, I hate it so much,” Bokuto grinned, pulling Akaashi down the street with him, “I’m Bokuto Kotarou by the way, I think we’re in the same Drawing I class,” he trailed off. _Shit. Now I really sound creepy don’t I. Fucking hell Kotarou, you finally got a chance to talk to him and you’re about to weird him out_.

“I-I’m Akaashi Keiji, I-Ithink we have Drawing I together, you sit in the front right?” he asked tentitavely. _Goddamit it Keiji, now he’s gonna know you stare at him constantly._ Bokuto nodded and pulled Akaashi into the coffee shop. The two sighed in relief as the warm air hit their cold bodies.

“Come on, what do you want, I’ll pay,” Bokuto smiled. _Jesus, this is like a fucking date or some shit, I really hope this doesn’t come off as gay, like he’s probably straight._

“Thanks…Bokuto,” he added quietly. He felt a small smile creep onto his face. _Oh shit, there’s that smile, it makes my heart race or some shit, don’t mess up Kotarou, you dodged a bullet earlier, but DON’T FUCK UP_! The two got their coffee and sat down in one of the corner booths.

“So, what’s your major Akaashi, sorry, that was really cliché,” Bokuto took a ship of the coffee, enjoying the warmth that traveled through his body.

“Biochemical Engineering, what’s yours?”

“Cryptography, which is kind of funny cause I’m not a very subtle person,” Bokuto grinned, causing Akaashi to giggle a little at his response. Wait. Did Akaashi Keiji just GIGGLE? This white-haired boy from Drawing I was really screwing with his head. “Anyways, we’re already 30 minutes late to our classes so, we might as well enjoy ourselves right now, one day won’t hurt anyone.”

“So, why did you come here, to this University I mean,” Akaashi asked. He couldn’t believe he was holding an actual conversation with the boy he had been quietly observing all year. Was this a dream?

“Well, I heard they had a good Math program, plus I got a scholarship to play volleyball here so it worked out really well, how about you?”

Akaashi blushed a little. _Should I tell him, or should I lie. He seems really nice, but I don’t want him to think I’m trying to flirt with him, after all, he’s probably straight and has a girlfriend. Whatever, I’ll tell him_. “I came here, because it’s way more LGBT-friendly than where I come from,”  he stated quietly, looking down. Bokuto felt his heart jump into his throat. So, this guy wasn’t straight.

“I-I’m gay too,” Bokuto said. _Why am I embarrassed? I’ve never been ashamed, so why is this so awkward now. Oh god, I really hope he doesn’t think I did this to get in his pants ohGODOHGODOHGOD!!!_ Thankfully, Akaashi smiled.

“I-I guess it’s comforting to know, that I know someone…like me,” he whispered.

“Likewise, hey class is almost over, we should probably get going. I have Integrated Math Topics now and I can’t miss that, ” Bokuto scrambled to shove himself back into his jacket. He grabbed a napkin and began scribbling something down on it. “Here’s…my phone number, you should text me, Akaashi.” He loved that name. It flowed so nicely off his tongue.

“Yeah, I will, Bokuto,” Akaashi said. He turned to go.

“HEY WAIT, you forgot your scarf,” Bokuto called. Akaashi turned, and smiled at him.

“It’s okay, you can keep it till Drawing, you need it more than I do.”

“Hey, Keiji, wanna do this again sometime?”

“Sure…Kotarou.”

  _Maybe winter wasn’t so bad after all._


	3. Cinderblock Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa always sleeps in the same bed as Iwaizumi.

“Iwa-chan, I’m cold, can I sleep with you,” an 8 year old Oikawa pleaded with his best friend. Ever since kindergarten, the pair had often spent nights at the other’s house and for as long as Iwaizumi could remember, Oikawa would somehow always end up next to him when he woke up in the morning. The spiky-haired boy sighed.

“Fine Tooru,” he grumbled, but in reality, he liked it better when Oikawa slept with him. He felt safer that way. Not that he would ever admit that.

“Yaaaay, I wuv you Iwa-chan,” the brunette snuggled up to his best friend and teammate’s chest and closed his eyes. He didn’t know why, but Iwa-chan’s heartbeat calmed him down. The pair burrowed down under the covers and Oikawa pointed out the window. “Look Iwa, a shooting star! Make a wish!” he said, excitedly tugging on his best friend’s oversized Aoba Johsai T-Shirt.

 Iwaizumi lay quietly in the dark, listening to Oikawa’s gentle breathing, trying to come up with a good wish. _I wonder, when we’re big high-schoolers, things’ll still be the same as they are right now. That’s my wish, for things to never change, that we can stay together forever and ever_ Iwaizumi thought as he drifted off to sleep, pulling his best friend closer to his body.

“Iwa-chan, I’m cold, let me sleep with you please,” a 17 year old Oikawa whined softly. Iwaizumi audibly sighed. Nothing had changed.

“Shittykawa, I’m trying to sleep and you should too. We have a game tomorrow, now shut the fuck up and sleep,” Iwaizumi growled, trying to hide the fact the he desperately wanted Oikawa to come and snuggle with him.

“But Iwa-channn,” the setter protested, a little pout forming on his lips.

“No, go to sleep,” Iwaizumi turned his head and buried it in the cheap, hotel pillow, trying to block out Oikawa’s whining which he found kind of adorable. Finally, Oikawa stopped.

“Fine, night Iwa,” he turned and lay back down. The black-haired hitter’s heart broke a little. His best friend sounded so sad.

“Wait Oikawa, come here, ” he said, “Don’t act so sad kay?”

“Yaaaay! Thanks Iwa-chan,” the brunette happily bounced over to Iwaizumi’s bed and buried himself in the covers.

“Blanket hog,” Iwaizumi said affectionately, stroking the setter’s soft brunette hair. He had toyed with the idea of having feelings for Oikawa, but never seriously considered it until recently. And once he considered it, he came to one conclusion: he had fallen hard and fast for Oikawa Tooru and he couldn’t get up. _Damn it, there needs to be some sort of Life Alert thing for crushes_.

“Love you Iwaaaa,” Oikawa’s voice trailed off into the pillow. He reached over in a clumsy attempt to pull the hitter towards him so he could cuddle. His hands felt warm on Iwaizumi’s back.

“Oikawa, you weren’t really cold were you, why did you want to sleep here?” Iwaizumi whispered, trying to ignore his fluttering heart. The brunette didn’t answer.  “I know you’re awake, ” he flicked the setter’s ear.

“I told you didn’t I, I said I love you,” Oikawa murmured, “Now lay back down and cuddle with me, that’s what a good boyfriend would do.”

“Wait, since when were we…a couple…” Iwaizumi almost yelled. His heart was beating even faster now. He couldn’t believe it. His wish had come true. Oikawa continued to bury his face into Iwaizumi’s hip. “You know what a good boyfriend would do,” he whispered into Oikawa’s ear, burying his face into the brunette hair, “he’d get his stupid boyfriend to go to fucking sleep because said boyfriend has a tournament tomorrow, Tooru.”

“Looks like that wish I made 9 years ago came true, remember Iwa-chan, the night before our first tournament in 3rd grade,” Oikawa looked up at the ceiling.

“Yeah, you found a shooting star and told me to make a wish,” Iwaizumi smiled at the memory. _Looks like that wish I made also came true. Who would have guessed, I wonder what Oikawa wished for_.

“Hey Iwa-chan, I’ll tell you my wish if you tell me yours,” the setter smiled.

“Fine. Only if you promise to go to sleep,” the brunette nodded. Iwaizumi continued, “I wished, that things would never change, that we would stay together forever and ever.”

“I wished that...” the brunette trailed off, “That I’d always have my Iwa-chan to keep me warm.”

“I promise, that I will make your wish last forever. I love you Tooru, I always have. Now please, we need to go bed it’s 1 AM.”

“I love you too Iwa-chan,” Oikawa sighed before falling asleep listening to Iwaizumi’s heartbeat, just like he had 9 years ago.


	4. For Baltimore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi thought it was just an innocent high school crush. But it kept getting bigger. He thought it was just a thing of a past once he went to college, but what happens when he walks into a job interview to see his old crush sitting in front of him.

Daichi Sawamura couldn’t believe he had starting falling for a boy he barely knew. For all he knew, they had nothing in common. Daichi was the captain of the volleyball team, the jock, the one that all the girls loved. No one knew he was gay. This grey-haired boy, whose name he didn’t even know, was quiet, introverted, and preferred books and a sketchpad to athletics. Daichi shook his head, letting the warm water of the shower run over him, hoping it would clear his head. _It’s okay, just ignore him and it’ll go away_.

The next day, he tried to prevent himself from staring at his ass, but it was hard. Daichi spun his pencil in his hand for the umpteenth time, watching grey-hair out of the corner of his eye against his will. He mentally slapped himself. _No. You’re only making it worse. Think about volleyball. Don’t think about him. Think about Calculus. Not him. Anything but him._ Daichi was infinitely grateful when the final bell rang. It meant he could escape to practice, away from everything.

Over the course of the next couple months, he tried everything to get grey-hair out of his head, but nothing worked. If anything, he was thinking about him more and more. Daichi wanted to scream. This was so frustrating, not having control over his feelings. Why, why, why was this boy he didn’t even interact with causing him to feel this way? Daichi just hoped he could make it to graduation without breaking down.

The day had finally come. The day that Daichi, and all the other 3rd-years took their first steps into their adult lives had finally arrived. It was graduation day. His volleyball team had given their captain a hearty goodbye, and while he was excited, he felt a pang of sadness over the thought of leaving everything behind. He brushed his short, dark hair back one more time, hoping he looked adequate. The day went by in a blur of speeches and empty words. This gown was getting hot, and he was getting edgy with anticipation. Finally he heard “Sawamura Daichi” echo throughout the room. He rose, walking up to the podium to accept his diploma. He felt like he was in a dream. A pair of eyes rested on his back. Daichi turned, to see grey-hair calmly gazing at him. He felt his heart skip a beat. His feet moved on their own as he returned to his seat, his mind elsewhere. Names flew by once again, but Daichi, once again, couldn’t stop thinking about a certain pair of light brown eyes that went with the beautiful grey hair. “Sugawara Koushi,” echoed through the room. Daichi’s head shot up. It was grey-hair, no Sugawara. _Sugawara Koushi huh, I’ll never forget that name._

Daichi Sawamura straightened his tie once more, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the room where the interview for a job he’d hopefully get was to be held. He had seen the chance to do an internship for a large tech company near his university, and the college sophomore took it without any hesitation. He needed the experience for his mechanical engineering degree anyways.

“Mr. Sawamura?” an angelic voice called from inside the room, “Sit down, my boss will be right with you.” Daichi entered, opening his mouth to thank the person, but immediately closed it in surprise. Sitting in front of him, in his full grey-haired glory, was Sugawara fucking Koushi. Memories that Daichi had suppressed after graduation came rushing back to him. He couldn’t say anything, only stare. Sugawara looked confused.

 

“Are you alright Mr. Sawamura,” he asked politely. Suddenly, his face lit up. “Holy crap, it is you. I thought that name sounded familiar. We went to high school together, you probably don’t remember me though.”   

“I-I remember you,” Daichi stuttered. He was at a loss for words. He thought that college would be the perfect way to escape his old crush, but here he was, sitting in front of him. “Y-you sat near the front, and I always thought your art was really good,” the words poured from his mouth before he could stop them. _Dammit Daichi, you’re usually more stoic than this. Act professional you stupid shit._ “So, um, do you wanna, like get coffee after this or something?” Sugawara smiled, causing Daichi’s heart to leap into his mouth. It was such a pure, beautiful smile. He had never really fallen out of love with this guy.

“Yeah, that sounds awesome, anyways, I shan’t keep you waiting any longer, good luck,” Sugawara exited the room, leaving a very frazzled Daichi alone with his thoughts. He quickly helped himself to a cup of water, hoping that the cold liquid would help calm his frayed nerves. The interview flew buy. Daichi tried to remain calm, but he couldn’t contain the excitement boiling up inside his body. When he finally left the room, Sugawara was waiting patiently outside on one of the benches. He had taken off his jacket. When he saw Daichi, he smiled and looked up.

“How’d it go?” he asked, brown eyes shining.

“Well, I think, he seemed to like my responses from what I could tell,” Daichi said, wiping his sweating palms on his pants. “So, are you ready to go? My treat!”

“That’s great! I hope you get the job. This place is amazing, I might only be a low-level intern, but still,” Sugawara said, shrugging his jacket on and following Daichi out to the parking lot.  Suddenly, the college sophomore felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned to see Sugawara’s clear brown eyes staring into his darker ones.

“Alright, I’m going to cut to the chase here Daichi. I, well, I used to like you in high school,  but well, I always thought you were straight and you never seemed to notice me anyways. Seeing you here, it, kinda rekindled feelings, so, I just thought I’d tell you,” Sugawara said levelly. Daichi was speechless. Sugawara looked sad at his lack of response and turned to go. “I’m sorry, I fucked up didn’t I, goodbye-”

“Wait,” Daichi put his hand on the smaller man’s shoulder, turning him back around. “I-I liked you too, but, well, I never knew how to talk to you. We had nothing in common. All I could do was sit and watch. When I saw you sitting there, in that room, I almost had a heart attack. All the memories of high school came rushing back in a fucking tidal wave, and I don’t think I can deny it anymore, I fucking loved you and I still do Sugawara Koushi.” The name felt sweet, lilting off of his tongue.  He felt Sugawara’s body press close to his.

“So, Daichi Sawamura, it’s a date?”

“Yes, my dear Sugawara Koushi, yes it is.”


	5. The Best Libero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nishinoya can't forgive himself for what happened. But maybe someone else can help him.

Nishinoya gritted his teeth, sweat dripping off his face, his legs burning as he returned to his base position. He could barely stand, but he needed to keep practicing. He could never forgive himself for the 5 balls he couldn’t quite get. That was 5 points. 5 points they could have scored instead of lost. 5 points he should have gotten up. Sweat matted his usual spiky hair as he forced his exhausted legs to move towards the next ball. A tip. He felt his legs give way and his small body crashed into the gym floor. Blood rushed in waves through is skull, his breath came in ragged gasps, but he refused to give in. He couldn’t. Not after they lost 30-32 against Shiratorizawa.

“Noya, stop. We’re stopping,” Suga looked at the libero, concerned.

“No,” he growled, pushing himself up from the floor, ignoring every screaming muscle and every bruise. “I have to…get better,” he panted, “I have one…more…year… I won’t let the same thing happen again. I won’t. It was my fault. Those five balls. My fault.”

“Noya. Stop. Stop blaming yourself. We have more scrimmages tomorrow and you can’t get hurt,” Suga began throwing balls into the cart. He refused to give in to Nishinoya’s demands.

“No…Suga please,” the libero begged. The grey-haired setter ignored him and continued taking down the net.

“Hey, take a break Noya, you won’t get worse overnight,” Suga gave him a wry smile, “Anyways, please, go to the dorms and take a shower, get some food and some rest. We’ll win tomorrow. And Noya, you’re an amazing libero, don’t ever doubt yourself.” Nishinoya glared at the floor. There was no way he could practice on his own, besides suicides. And he hated running. Groaning quietly so Suga wouldn’t hear, he began slowly trudging towards the locker room. “By Noya, come back soon alright, if you’re not back to the dorms by 9:30 I’m sending someone to come kick your tiny ass,” his tone became slightly threatening. The libero was too tired to nod. As soon as he reached the lockers, he collapsed. He didn’t care that there was probably some sort of disgusting virus clinging to the locker room floor. The cool tiles felt comforting against his face. His shirt was saturated. A gentle hand touched his shoulder. The libero groaned and rolled onto his side.

“Noya?” It was Yaku, the Nekoma libero, a concerned look on his face.

“Y-yaku, why, why’re you still heeere,” he mumbled into his shirt.

“Why are you lying on the floor, there’s probably herpes on this thing to be honest,” Yaku smirked, foregoing his usual semi-formal language. There was something about the Karasuno libero laying on the floor, drenched in sweat, that was oddly attractive.

“Mmmmph, too tired,” the spiky-haired boy said, closing his brown eyes, only to be yanked up by Yaku.

“Come oooooon, get up off the floor, it is absolutely bacteria-ridden, plus, there are more comfortable places to sleep,” he said. Nishinoya complied, relaxing into the Nekoma libero’s arms. He felt his heart skip a beat when Yaku touched his arm, and it wasn’t because he was exhausted. Even though he had only know him for around 3 days, he felt a connection that he couldn’t explain. Yaku’s arm felt comforting around his shoulder, and Nishinoya never wanted the weight that felt oddly familiar to leave.

“Alright, come on, you’re coming with me, idiot,” Yaku dragged the smaller libero down the street and towards the dorms, “You look fucking awful, what even did you do?”

“Practice,” Noya’s voice said tiredly, “I…need to get better…after what happened with Shiratorizawa…” he trailed off, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

“That’s why you look so ragged? Noya, come one, you were the best one in that match. We all watched it. The only reason you pushed them that far was because of your digs.”

“No. 5 balls. 5 points. It was my fault Yaku, my fault,” he growled, digging his hand into the red Nekoma jacket to keep from collapsing on the pavement.

“You’re too hard on yourself dumbass, come on sit, sit down Noya,” the sandy-haired libero set his counterpart on a bench. He dug a practice shirt from his bag and threw it at him. “You’re still wearing all your gear, and here, this might be a bit big but it’s better than being drenched in your own sweat. I’m assuming, by the lack of bags, you walked here in this?”

“Yeh…it’s so close…thought it’d be fine,” Nishinoya casually removed his shirt, gratefully accepting the one Yaku had given him. It smelled nice, like cinnamon. He shivered against the harsh breeze, secretly enjoying the comfort the clean shirt brought him. Yaku felt something jump inside him as Noya removed his shirt. _Damn, he’s attractive._

  “Thanks…now, let’s go,” he stood, only to fall into Yaku’s arms again. “Gotta…get back, Suga will kill me.”

“Oh this is ridiculous, you’re coming to our dorms, they’re closer by a couple blocks. I’ll send Lev to tell them where you are ‘kay?” Yaku reluctantly let go of Nishinoya, allowing him to stand shakily on his own. “We’re going slow okay, don’t push yourself too hard. Damn, you’re gonna be feeling the lactic acid tomorrow.” The pair slowly began trudging down the road.

“I…it was my fault,” the spiky-haired libero said dejectedly, only to earn himself a gentle slap from Yaku, his eyes burning.

“Shut up fucktard. It. Wasn’t. Your. Fault. You are the most amazing libero I know, never forget that,” Yaku said angrily. He wished Nishinoya would stop beating himself up. Suddenly, he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his neck, gripping him tightly in a hug. Nishinoya’s brown hair tickled his neck. Yaku gently wrapped his arms around the libero, holding him tightly. He felt so relaxed, like he was holding something familiar, even though the two had only met the a couple days prior.

Nishinoya fell deeper into the embrace. He never wanted to let go. He wished he could stay here for a while, basking in the smell of cinnamon that accompanies Yaku. Finally, the pair broke apart.

“Hey…Noya?” the sandy-haired libero said tentatively. He felt his palms begin to sweat. “Would you…well…believe me if I said that, well, I kinda like you, in _that_ way?”

Nishinoya’s brown eyes flashed with something unrecognizable, before bursting into a tired, yet amazed smile. He reached up and kissed Yaku’s nose.  He blushed, his face turning the same shade of red as his jacket.

“There’s my answer.”


End file.
